Astrophysics in 1992

Abstract

Areas of research in the broadly defined field ofastrophysics are discussed in the light of significant results and advances.Information from the Magellan spacecraft are discussed which show thatthe surface of Venus is active but devoid of subduction. Unexpectedflare activity observed in Comet P/Halley suggest that importantprocessing takes place at more than 10 AU from the sun, and possibleexplanations are presented. Analytical and observational data regardingconvective overshoot in astrophysical objects demonstrate the dubiousinterpretation and necessity of these phenomena. Also examined in theoverview are the implications of blue stragglers on understandingthe main sequence, the notable proliferations of recycled pulsarsand X-ray binaries, and the influence of microlensing. Descriptionsare given of significant data regarding unusual objects and recentdata that confirm or throw into question widely held hypotheses.